Winter Wonderland(scapes)

French Masters Making An Impression In Our Nation's Capital

December 14, 1998|By Chuck Myers, Knight-Ridder/Tribune.

WASHINGTON — While much of the country has started to see its first serious signs of winter weather, our nation's capital has already experienced a blizzard of sorts -- compliments not of Old Man Winter, but a talented group of renowned 19th Century artists.

A refreshing blast of wintry air has blown into the Phillips Collection with a captivating assemblage of winter scene paintings created by seven famed French masters.

"Impressionists in Winter; Effets de Neige" provides the most comprehensive look ever at Impressionist interpretations of winter settings. The exhibition contains 62 paintings from 44 lenders in nine countries.

Dedicated to a single theme, the show presents a diverting range of visually eloquent and expressive imagery that proves anything but monotonous.

"One might think that the (winter) pictures are going to look too much the same," said Eliza Rathbone, chief curator at the Phillips and show organizer. "In fact, they're incredibly varied . . . varied in their subject, varied in their location and varied in the quality of light and amount of snow."

Each artist featured in the show had his own approach to depicting winter scenery. None, however, was as prolific as Claude Monet. Accordingly, nearly half the works on display are by the renowned French artist.

Bone-chilling temperatures or heavy snowfall never dissuaded the intrepid Monet from his creative rounds. He sometimes braved difficult conditions -- including a brutal blizzard in 1869-70 -- to capture atmospherically rich moments along country roads and towns outside of Paris.

Whether muted or radiant, the quality of light in Monet's winter works is positively sublime. In his largest winter painting, "The Magpie" (1869), a lone bird perched atop a wooden gate surveys a glistening snowy realm. The placid setting is deftly punctuated and balanced by a series of horizontal and vertical shadows that stretch across the work's foreground.

Monet did, on occasion, also work inside. One such work, "The Red Cape" (1869-70 or 1871) shows Monet's wife, Camille, dressed in blue winter coat and vibrant red kerchief, passing by a door window. With a diverting glance, the unseen artist working inside seemingly catches her attention for a fleeting second.

Monet's famous counterpart, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, was not nearly as enthusiastic about painting in the winter. He preferred much more temperate conditions, and the luscious hues of spring and summer. Nevertheless, he did do at least one winter canvas; a wonderful rendition of ice skaters in the Bois de Boulogne, also found in the exhibit.

Inspired by his friend Monet, artist Camille Pissarro likewise produced several winter views in and around the hamlets that surround Paris. Not surprisingly, Pissarro's "The Versailles Road at Louveciennes" (1869) echoes a similar composition by Monet on display, "Road at Louveciennes" (1869-70). The paintings, shown side by side, suggest that the two artists probably worked closely with one another on their respective scenes of the area.

Artist Alfred Sisley too set up his easel along roads outside the French capital. Sisley's winter scenes possess a special intimacy and exquisite luminosity about them. In one of the show's more engaging works, "Snow Effect at Argenteuil" (1874), Sisley masters the brilliance of winter light by effectively dividing a snow-covered area into crisp zones of shadow and light.

Unlike Monet, Pissarro and Sisley, Gustave Caillebotte was a dedicated urbanite, who chose to create winter depictions from somewhat unconventional perspectives in Paris. His snowy "View of Rooftops" (c. 1878) and balcony view of "Boulevard Haussmann, Snow"' (1880-81) have an engaging immediacy and a snapshot-like feel about them.

The exhibit also contains two rare winter scenes by Paul Gauguin, including one of his earliest paintings, "The Seine at the Pont d'Iena, Snowy Weather" (1875). Unlike the active application of color employed by the Impressionists, Gauguin favored a more linear approach in his tonal applications.

Among a dozen late paintings by Monet that round out the show are four tranquil views of snowcapped ice floes along the Seine River, produced in 1893-94. With a soft yet varied palette, these works are serenely enticing, inviting the onlooker to partake in a prolonged moment of contemplation and reflection.

"Impressionists in Winter: Effets de Neige" runs at the Phillips through Jan. 3. It next goes to The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (Jan. 30-May 2, 1999).